Huacachina, Peru

Thursday, May 15
We were required to vacate our room at noon on Thursday and force to find other accomodations. The holiday in Lima that apparently caused the influx of people made finding another room a little difficult. We were able to manage to secure a room (calling it a room is very generous...it was more of an attic that reaked of cat urine) at another hostel, but returned to El Huacachinero to sit by the pool and attempt to catch up on some sleep. We also had to say goodbye to Daniel as he was returning to Buenos Aires for a few days before leaving for Dubai where he will soon be starting a new job. That afternoon, as we were sitting by the pool, the hostel seemed awfully empty despite the claims by the administration that all the rooms were full. We decided to try our luck and asked if any space had become available. Luckily enough, there were some cancellations and we were able to return to our same triple room. In the evening, we met up again with Woody and Luke to have dinner. We found a fantastic restaurant overlooking the lagoon. While my lomo saltado was one of the best meals Ive had on my trip, the highlight of the dinner was our game of Jenga. The skills demonstrated by our dinner group cannot be matched as we finally got to the point in the game when there were literally no more pieces be moved and we were left with a precariously leaning pile of blocks towering over our glasses of wine and appetizers.

Wednesday, May 14
We arrived in Ica around 8:30am and found a taxi to take us to Huacachina, about 6km away. After some negotiations with different hostels in Huacachina, we were able to secure a room at El Huacachinero...a very nice hostel at the base of the sand dunes. Unfortunately, due to a holiday in Lima, we were told we could only stay one night. We ate breakfast at a small cafe owned by a British women named Beth. Jodi was looking hoping to find a pair of sandals and Beth offered to take us into Ica to the try to find some. So, Jodi, Jessica, and I, along with Beth and her 16 month old daughter (Jasmine) jumped in a cab and headed into Ica. After finding a pair of sandals, Beth directed us to a great little restaurant in the main plaza where we could get cheap pizza and ice cream. After returning to Huacachina, we met up with 3 guys who we had all met earlier in Chile (Woody, Luke, and Daniel) and spent the day lounging around the pool, catching up one each other's adventures. That night we had great dinner, actually running into Jessica (British girl from the Salkantay Trek) at the restaurant, and then ventured out to the local pubs and disco.

Tuesday, May 13
We got on a 6pm bus from Cusco to Ica and thought we were prepared for the 14 hour, overnight trip to the coast. With snacks and drinks in hand, we settled in and were lucky enough to be treated to a great movie...Motorcycle Diaries. It was great to watch that movie again and to recognize many of the places that are visited in the movie after just being their myself. Unfortunately, the rest of the trip was not as nice. The road from Cusco to Ica has got to be one of the windiest in the world...we all spent the night trying to fall asleep while being tossed from aisle to window. And, trying to use the restroom was quite an adventure. If you could make it down the aisle without landing on the lap of another passenger, you still had to find a way to balance yourself in the bathroom so as not to fall in.